Elea or of Aqui ai e he roubadour's Daugh er Elea or of Aqui ai e was bor arou d 1122. Her gra dfa her, William IX, was he weal hy a d powerful duke of Aqui ai e. He was also a musicia a d poe , ack owledged as his ory's firs roubadour. William IX did ' jus si g abou love. By he ime he was we y he had married a d divorced his firs wife, Erme garde. His seco d wife was Philippa (or Maud) of oulouse, he widowed quee of Arago . hey had wo so s, William a d Raymo d, a d five daugh ers. Whe he roubadour ired of Philippa, she moved o he same u ery where Erme gard lived. Af er Philippa's dea h, Erme garde ried o force William o ake her back, bu he duke had o her ideas. He had abduc ed a married woma called Da gereuse ("da gerous" i Fre ch), a d she was ow his mis ress. I ime he roubadour decided ha his elder so , William, should marry Da gereuse's daugh er Ae or. (Da gereuse's husba d was Ae or's fa her.) he you ger William did ' wa o marry Ae or, bu he had o choice. he marriage ook place i 1121, a d a year or so la er Elea or of Aqui ai e was bor . She was followed by a daugh er, Aeli h (or Pe ro ella) a d a so , William Aigre . Whe Elea or was abou five years old, William he roubadour died a d her fa her became Duke William X. A few years la er, Elea or's mo her a d bro her died. ow Elea or was heir o he vas realm of Aqui ai e. Like his fa her, William X was a pa ro of he roubadours a d s ory ellers, a d growi g up i his cour Elea or developed a lifelo g love of music a d li era ure. Proud of his lively, i ellige daugh er, William gave her a excelle educa io . She ravelled hrough Aqui ai e wi h him, prepari g for her fu ure role of duchess. Fa her a d daugh er were close, a d i mus have bee a harsh blow for Elea or whe William, while maki g a religious pilgrimage, died sudde ly of food poiso i g. Elea or was jus fif ee , a d her life was abou o cha ge forever. O his dea hbed William had asked his me o comme d Elea or o he care of Louis he Fa , ki g of Fra ce. Louis was o fool. He k ew jus wha o do wi h his you g, very beau iful, ex remely weal hy ward - marry her off o his ow so a d heir. A d so o Augus 1, 1137, Elea or of Aqui ai e married he fu ure Ki g Louis VII. Quee of Fra ce Bo h Elea or a d her husba d were i heir ee s, bu hey had li le else i commo . Elea or was high-spiri ed a d s ro g-willed; Louis was a quie , religious you g ma , regarded by some as a sai . o o e ever mis ook Elea or of Aqui ai e for a sai . A few days af er he weddi g, Elea or's fa her-i -law died a d her husba d became Ki g Louis VII. Elea or, who was o o e o s ay a home maki g apes ries, hrew herself e husias ically i o he role of quee . o he dismay of ma y observers, he ew ki g respec ed his wife's i ellige ce a d co sul ed her freque ly o ma ers of s a e. Quee Elea or freque ly visi ed Aqui ai e, where she was well-regarded by her fa her's former vassals. Elea or's sis er, Pe ro ella, was also keepi g busy. Wi h Elea or's e courageme , a oblema divorced his wife o marry Pe ro ella, which did ' make he family of Wife umber O e very happy. War broke ou , a d Louis led his roops agai s a ow called Vi ry, se i g i o fire.

he ow speople sough refuge i a church, which bur ed dow . More ha o e housa d people perished. Louis was wracked by guil . Duri g he firs years of her marriage Elea or had jus o e child, who was s illbor . A i flue ial miracle-worki g abbo , Ber ard of Clairvaux, old her ha she was childless because God disapproved of her wicked ways. Ei her Elea or emporarily me ded her ways or God rele ed, because i 1145 she gave bir h o her firs child, a daugh er amed Marie. Bu Elea or was ' ready o se le dow a d be a ypical medieval mommy. he Seco d Crusade I 1144 he ci y of Edessa (loca ed i moder -day urkey), which had bee i Chris ia ha ds for almos fif y years, was cap ured by Muslims. Mos of i s ci ize s were massacred or sold i o slavery. I spired by his eve a d he preachi g of S . Ber ard of Clairvaux, Louis VII a d Germa emperor Co rad III orga ized heir ow separa e mili ary expedi io s o he Middle Eas . he Fre ch a d Germa s had li le i eres i coopera i g wi h each o her; s ill, heir dual effor is k ow as he Seco d Crusade. Elea or had o i e io of si i g quie ly a home while her husba d we off o his adve ure. he ki g's advisors may have bee opposed o aki g Elea or a d her compa y of 300 wome alo g o he Crusade, bu Elea or was also offeri g he services of a housa d me from Aqui ai e, a d he ki g accep ed. Whe hey reached A ioch hey were gree ed by Elea or's u cle, Raymo d of Poi iers, who had become ruler of he ci y by marryi g i s you g pri cess. Raymo d e er ai ed he crusaders i gra d s yle, payi g special a e io o his flir a ious iece. Al hough Raymo d had a repu a io for bei g a fai hful husba d, Elea or's repu a io was less spo less, a d gossip abou heir rela io ship soo bega o fly. he rumors followed Elea or for he res of her life. Ma y years la er a E glish chro icler wro e s eeri gly, "How Elea or, quee of Fra ce, behaved whe she was across he sea i Pales i e. all hese hi gs are well e ough k ow ." Whe her or o Elea or had a affair wi h her u cle, she was cer ai ly i flue ced by him. Whe Raymo d pleaded for Louis's help i defe di g A ioch, Elea or ook his side. Whe Louis refused o assis Raymo d, Elea or declared ha she wa ed a divorce. Louis, who adored his wife, was a gry a d hur . He lef A ioch a d forced Elea or o go wi h him. She ever saw Raymo d agai . I 1149 he was killed i a ba le agai s he Muslims. His severed head was se o he caliph i Baghdad. he Seco d Crusade was a failure, par ly because of he quarreli g amo g i s leaders. Eve ually Louis aba do ed he cause a d re ur ed o Fra ce. Elea or we wi h him -- o a separa e ship. O heir way home hey s opped i Rome, where he pope persuaded hem o go o bed oge her. he resul of his papal i ercessio was a seco d daugh er, Alix, bor i 1150. Bu he marriage of Elea or of Aqui ai e a d Louis VII ever ruly recovered from Elea or's sca dalous behavior i A ioch, a d i 1152 Louis gra ed Elea or he divorce she desired. Elea or was o des i ed o remai si gle for lo g. Quee of E gla d I 1152, less ha wo mo hs af er her divorce from Ki g Louis VII of Fra ce, Elea or married He ry Pla age e , he gra dso of E gla d's Ki g He ry I.

He was eigh ee , eleve years you ger ha Elea or. heir marriage sca dalized observers. Elea or, i was rumored, had previously had a affair wi h He ry's fa her. I he words of a co emporary wri er, Gerald of Wales, "Cou Geoffrey of A jou whe he was se eschal of Fra ce ook adva age of Quee Elea or; for which reaso he of e war ed his so He ry, elli g him above all o o ouch her, hey say, bo h because she was his lord's wife, a d because he had k ow her himself." Bu , ig ori g his fa her's advice, He ry "presumed o sleep adul erously wi h he said quee of Fra ce, aki g her from his ow lord a d marryi g her himself. How could a y hi g for u a e, I ask, emerge from hese copula io s?" he firs hi g o emerge -- jus five mo hs af er Elea or a d He ry's has y marriage -- was a so , William. he child died a few years la er. By he He ry had claimed he E glish hro e. Elea or, formerly quee of Fra ce, was ow he quee of E gla d. Elea or a d He ry had seve survivi g childre : He ry, Ma ilda, Richard, Geoffrey, Elea or, Joa , a d Joh . As he childre grew up, Elea or a d her husba d grew apar . A firs He ry co duc ed secre love affairs. he he bega a public rela io ship wi h a k igh 's daugh er, Rosamo d Clifford, " he Fair Rosamo d." Lege d has i ha he jealous Quee Elea or co fro ed Rosamo d wi h a dagger i o e ha d a d a cup of poiso i he o her a d forced her o choose which way she would die. (Rosamo d did die i 1177, bu probably of a ural causes.) Ki g He ry la er became i volved wi h his so Richard's fia cee, a Fre ch pri cess who also happe ed o be he daugh er of Elea or's firs husba d, Louis VII. o surprisi gly, Richard ever married he girl. I 1168 Elea or re ur ed o Fra ce o rule her res less subjec s. Her cour quickly became a ce er of cul ure. She was reu i ed wi h her eldes daugh er from her firs marriage, Marie, who shared her i eres s. Bu Elea or was ' co e o spe d he res of her life pa ro izi g roubadours a d presidi g over cour s of love. She wa ed more power ha He ry was willi g o give her, a d she bega plo i g agai s him. He ry summo ed her back o E gla d, where she co i ued o scheme. Elea or he Eagle I 1173, Elea or's hree eldes so s - He ry, Richard, a d Geoffrey - rebelled agai s heir fa her, He ry II, wi h Elea or's suppor . hey were forced o flee o Fra ce. Elea or ried o follow, disguised as a ma , bu she was cap ured by He ry's forces. Ki g He ry kep Elea or more or less impriso ed for six ee lo g years. His so s co i ued o war agai s him; i he e d eve his favori e so , Joh , ur ed agai s him. Fi ally, i 1189, He ry II died. Elea or a d He ry's eldes so , He ry, was already dead, so Elea or's favori e, Richard he Lio hear , became ki g. Richard soo we away o a crusade, leavi g his mo her as rege . "He issued i s ruc io s o he pri ces of he realm, almos i he s yle of a ge eral edic , ha he quee 's word should be law i all ma ers," wro e a co emporary chro icler, Ralph of Dice o. She proved o be a shrewd ruler. Whe Richard was ake hos age, Elea or helped o raise his ra som mo ey. She also s ood up o Richard's bro her Joh , who plo ed o seize he hro e.

She struggles to overcome the guilt she feels for the death of her mother. "Although one comes to know her quite well, she remains mysterious. The mystery is a product of Eleanor's uncertainty and her mental and emotional changes, which are difficult to fathom. She is insecure and, therefore, unstable in her relationships with others and her relationship to the house. She feels the irresistible force of the spirits and longs, finally, to submit to them. When she does decide not to leave Hill House, one must assume she is slipping into madness." * *Friedman, Shirley Jackson, p. 133. Hill House, then, is the microcosm where universal forces collide, and in his piece on The Sundial (published in 1958, a year before The Haunting of Hill House), John G. Park goes on to speak of "the voyage . . . {the} attempt to flee . . . an attempt to escape . . . cloying authoritarianism . . . This is, in fact, the place where Eleanor's own voyage begins, and also the motive for that voyage. She is shy, withdrawn, and submissive